SXSW

Japan's Hakuhodo i-studio has teamed up with the Yamaha Corporation to allow professionals and beginners alike to take part in live piano duets with an AI-powered partner at South by Southwest (SXSW) this week at the Austin Convention Center in Texas.

NIO plans to branch out from electric supercars to bring autonomous electric vehicles to US roads by 2020. The Eve "vision car" puts its stamp on the world of autonomous car design with features like forward-sliding doors, a unique interior layout and an active glass canopy.​​

SXSW is an epicenter for all things tech, tackling complicated issues like privacy and gender equality in the digital space, and highlighting the more frivolous side of the equation with rock-paper-scissors-playing robots and giant Ferris wheels.

A new eco-friendly take-with-you shower is being developed by Japanese company Hotaru. Relying on the company's water purification system, it delivers great pressure and can run on 5 gal (20 L) of water for two weeks.

Last year an unknown TV show from the USA Network called Mr. Robot took the South By Southwest festival by storm, winning the extravaganza's coveted Audience Award for an episodic show. This year, "Mr. Robot" is back at SXSW which a much bigger presence –​ quite literally.

In a quiet (relatively speaking, of course) corner of SXSW there are two graduate students from Japan showing off a sweet little piece of technology. Called Otopot, the device lets you store and then pour away your voice like water.

Following in the virtual footsteps of Tupac Shakur, at the SXSW festival last weekend Japanese musical icon Yoshiki used a hologram not just in an attempt to add a little flair to his performance, but to indulge those fans who can't quite get enough of him.

Last week, creative tech studio Chaotic Moon demonstrated CUPID, a drone equipped with a stun gun that can incapacitate people with an 80,000 volt shock. The studio says the stunt was aimed at raising awareness of the extent to which technology is outpacing our ability to regulate and live with it.